Sarah Steelman: I'll make the tough decisions; here's what I will cut

In a campaign e-mail sent today, U. S. Senate candidate Sarah Steelman says she is not afraid to make the tough decisions to cut spending, but one thing she will not do...all together now...is raise taxes.

I think you’ll agree with me that we need our leaders in Washington, D.C. to make the tough decisions required to solve the financial crisis facing our country. And right now, they just aren’t getting the job done.


While our country and economy are facing huge challenges, President Obama and Congress just continue to get tied up in partisan politics -- and they don’t seem to accomplish anything.

They have shown NO leadership on REAL spending cuts to rein in our huge deficits. They have not made the tough budget decisions that can get our economy back on track. And they wasted months trying to agree on a spending plan – AFTER creating a “Super Committee” that failed.

Obama and Claire McCaskill continue to be part of the problem. Obama has been absent and not shown any leadership. Claire McCaskill has talked about deficit reduction – but continues to vote for earmarks that just increase our spending and our deficit. Where’s the leadership?

Since President Obama and Congress continue to bicker and clearly aren't ready to make the tough decisions on spending cuts and reducing the deficit, I'm happy to give them suggestions on where they can start.

And my proposals don’t include tax increases. The last thing we need now is more taxes on working Americans!

Starting today, I’m offering common-sense spending cuts that can be made NOW to help reduce spending and get us closer to a balanced budget.

We can start with repealing ObamaCare.

And there are other programs that must be cut. Whatever you may think about these programs, in this era of limited resources, massive deficits, and an ever-increasing national debt, these are things we simply can’t afford. We are at a time when many working families are struggling -- trying to make ends meet, put their children through school, and make plans for their futures – these cuts must be made.

My cuts include repealing ObamaCare…reducing subsidies for Arts and Humanities programs that we can no longer afford….ending the program of rewarding states for recruiting additional food stamp recipients…eliminating Title X Family Planning funding… and banning earmarks that cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year.

This list of spending cuts is only the beginning of the necessary cuts—but we have to start somewhere. And we have to start now.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll continue to call on Washington, D.C. to make the tough decisions on the spending cuts that America needs. I’ll be sure to share them so you can see my thoughts on how to get this out-of-control spending and record deficits under control.

If President Obama and Congress aren’t willing to make the tough decisions, I’m happy to step up and offer common sense cuts that Americans can support.

STEELMAN'S PROPOSED CUTS

This list of spending cuts is just a beginning of the cuts that need to be made—but we have to start somewhere. And there’s certainly a lot more that can be done.

Here’s the start of my list of spending cuts – stay tuned as I release more!

Repeal ObamaCare — Savings: $95 Billion.

Reduce Subsidies for The National Endowments for The Arts and Humanities, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and The Legal Services Corporation — Savings: $600 Million.

Cut Cell phone subsidies in the Universal Service Fund — Savings: $500 Million a year

Eliminate Title X Family Planning Funding — Savings: $300 Million. (Title X subsidizes family planning programs that promotes and benefit abortion groups like Planned Parenthood.)

Cut Weatherization Assistance Programs — Savings: $210 Million a year

Stop Mine clean up to states that have already completed cleanups — Savings: $120 Million a year

Reduce Foreign Aid — Savings: $100 Million.